Amid the large portions of TV renewal and cancellation information hitting the airwaves, FOX introduced its revival of Final Man Standing. This brings again the Tim Allen car after ABC cancelled the present in 2017 and CMT snubbed the sequence for revival functions. But because it seems — and prone to the shock of few — FOX was impressed to make their (considerably controversial) choice by ABC’s current windfall with reviving Roseanne.

Certainly, the facility of nostalgia is robust, and Roseanne has emerged because the most-watched present of the season. All of the whereas, titular star Roseanne Barr’s been tweeting inflammatory political views, however FOX executives have insisted (throughout a convention name transcribed by Hollywood Reporter) that they made their Final Man Standing choice primarily based solely upon rankings potential, not politics. Right here’s what FOX TV CEO Dana Walden needed to provide:

“Clearly everybody took laborious have a look at the efficiency of [that show]. It actually did remind us that we have now an enormous comedy star in Tim Allen. And we have now been speaking to Tim via the yr.”

Walden’s companion, Gary Newman, additionally spoke as much as downplay one reporter’s suggestion that FOX was aiming for a “tonal shift” whereas stressing that, in the end, it’s all in regards to the rankings. Walden added that ABC had not, “for no matter motive,” made Allen’s sequence a precedence, which can be a reference to its relegation to a Friday evening time slot.

Regardless of the case, FOX may additionally reap some advantages from the notoriety wielded by the conservative Tim Allen, in addition to the truth that most Tim Allen characters are not-so-loosely primarily based upon Tim Allen. He beforehand said that his present was cancelled by ABC as a result of it was too “harmful,” politically talking, and he had at all times wished his character to be extra like Archie Bunker of All In The Household fame. In different phrases, a revived Tim Allen could actually be the brand new revived Roseanne Barr, and issues are gonna be messy.